Dragon Ball Z ended nearly three decades ago but the anime’s legacy has lived on through the years. Through numerous movies, sequel series and games, fans have had the opportunity to keep up with and relive the story time and time again. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is the latest adaptation among many.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is the long-awaited return to the role-playing genre for the series. Where the majority of previous games have focused on having intense one-on-one fights, the focus of this game is on exploring the world, completing quests and leveling up a few of the series’ most iconic fighters.
The classic story follows several of earth’s defenders, primarily the protagonist Goku, as they fight increasingly powerful enemies trying to destroy the planet. Aliens, androids and evil gods make up the bulk of the enemies that Goku and his friends must fight.
The game covers the same storyline, albeit truncated while removing a lot of the unnecessary side-plots present in the anime.
The story doesn’t really do anything new. It’s the same one that fans are familiar with, but it appeals to that nostalgia excellently. Playing it is nearly like watching the anime and it continues to be just as exciting years later.
Combat is very simplistic, largely coming down to mashing a single button with some flashy attacks and transformations. Despite its simplicity, growing stronger and using iconic moves from the series can be very satisfying.
Unfortunately, not everything is great about it. The world doesn’t have a lot going on in it. Where many open-world games would give you interesting secrets to find, Dragon Ball only has collectible orbs scattered around seemingly at random.
Players spend a bulk of time exploring by soaring through the air but it just doesn’t feel fun to fly. This is largely due to imprecise controls that feel dated. Additionally, the combat can sometimes be repetitive and frustrating.
For a game that can last upwards of fifty hours, these issues can definitely start to get grating for even diehard fans.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is aimed at fans of the series. From the story to the visuals you can tell that the developers really cared about the source material. Pre-existing fans of the anime will have a lot to love if they can get over some of the game’s frustrations.
Story by: Alex Schilling
alexschilling98@gmail.com
Photos courtesy of: Bandai Namco
